


Hollow

by california_112



Category: Blake et Mortimer | Blake and Mortimer
Genre: FPC: 22 | Hollow, Fifty Prompt Challenge, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25280371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/california_112/pseuds/california_112
Summary: It was certainly an unusual situation, though unfortunately also uncomfortable. When Professor Mortimer had wished idly for something interesting to happen two days previously, he hadn't wanted something quite as 'interesting' as this.-or-Mortimer is trapped somewhere, with someone, but he doesn't know much more than that. Will Blake arrive to save the day?ABSOLUTELY 0% SPOILERS FOR ANYTHINGThis is part of the Fifty Prompt Challenge, 22 - Hollow.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Hollow

It was certainly an unusual situation, though unfortunately also uncomfortable. When Professor Mortimer had wished idly for something interesting to happen two days previously, he hadn't wanted something quite as 'interesting' as this.

He was lying in a space so small it threatened to give him a panic attack whenever he thought about it, arms pulled uncomfortably over his head and not helping the situation. Apart from each other, his wrists also seemed to be handcuffed to something else- someone. Though the person hadn't spoken a word, either because they were unhappy or still unconscious, based on the last moments that Mortimer remembered from the traitor's office, it was probably Colonel Olrik.

The space they were in could be best described as a far too small tube, completely round and with smooth sides. It seemed to be made of some hard material, possibly concrete, and was presumably designed to carry water, not people. Fortunately, it was dry, but unfortunately, it was almost completely dark. There was a familiar, slightly unsettling smell- of wood, of all things. Other than 'in a pitch-black pipe of indeterminate length probably chained to a man who has tortured me and tried to kill me on several occasions', Mortimer had no idea where he was.

Aside from the complete panic that threatened to overwhelm him every few minutes, the professor himself was alright. His head throbbed from where he had been coshed, but that was the least of his worries. His first priority was to get out of whatever he was in, or at least attract some help- he didn't know if the pipe was airtight, but he didn’t want to find out.

Although it would probably be as fruitless as the last couple of times, Mortimer tried kicking the sides of the pipe again, the dull thud sound depressing him. For all he knew, the pipe could be buried, and nobody would ever find them. So, he was stuck in this small space, which was shrinking by the minute, manacled to his worst enemy, in the pitch dark.

Well, actually, not quite pitch. And if there was a little bit of light, it must mean- the tube wasn't completely sealed!

"HELP!"

His yell was definingly close in the tube, but he thought he heard it echo a little in some sort of wider room, beyond the prison. He tried again.

"Help, anybody!" He listened, but there was no reply. "We're trapped! HELP!"

He had to take a break, the loud noise was making his head feel even worse. As he lay, waiting to feel well enough to yell again, he heard a sound- metal scraping against metal, something heavy rolling. Hurried footsteps.

"HELP!" he cried again, daring to hope.

"Everyone quiet!" a familiar, commanding voice, far off, and all noise suddenly ceased. "Philip?" asked the voice tentatively, "Are you in here?"

"FRANCIS! I'm in…a- a tube!"

"We're coming, hang on!"

The footsteps started again, quickly coming closer until they seemed to stop close by. There was a murmur of voices. Captain Blake didn't need to shout this time.

"Philip, where are you?"

"A tunnel, a pipe or something…"

"It's coming from this pile of logs," Blake muttered, then called "Keep talking, we'll try and work out where you are. What's it like?"

"Round, smooth, small…oh, Francis, far too small…"

Something knocked on wood close to Mortimer's feet, and a younger voice interrupted. "Sir, that one's hollow."

"That was near my feet!" Mortimer called, seeing if he could reach it with his toe.

"Break it open." Blake ordered. "Philip, I think we've found you, hold on."

After a minute, there were a handful dull blows before a large crash, and the pipe lit up considerably. Lifting his head, Mortimer caught a glimpse of a policeman's hat before it was replaced by Blake's face.

"Don't worry, old chap, we'll soon have you out." the Captain reassured, then turned away. "Get this one down and get it open, quickly!"

The next few minutes were full of sickening movement, but by concentrating on the sounds, Mortimer managed not to panic, and learned a lot. It would seem that he and his unconscious companion had been left in a wood depot, sealed inside the concrete-lined log that was now being lifted to the floor by crane. Somehow, Captain Blake had worked this out, and come to their rescue.

Mortimer was jolted from his musings by several more blows and the sound of a power tool starting up close by, and suddenly a blade burst through the pipe just in front of his face, showering him in cement and sawdust and making him cough. By hacking away the wood with an axe, scoring the concrete with an electric saw, then using a crowbar, the pipe was eventually broken open, and Mortimer was dragged into the brightness of the warehouse with little ceremony. Squeezing his eyes shut against the lights, he felt the handcuffs being cut off as someone crouched by his side, hovering anxiously. Squinting at them, he could just make out the distinctive profile of Captain Blake.

"Philip, are you alright?"

"Yes, I think so." he bought his arms forward painfully, rubbing at his wrists. "What happened? How did you get here?"

"I was going to ask how you got here, but I'll go first." the Captain carefully helped his friend to his feet. "We received a report that a group of people had carried two bodies into a van, and the van was seen entering the docks. It took some persuasion, but once the dockmaster said that this warehouse was owned by our traitor, we came straight here."

The pair turned to look at Mortimer's partner in incarceration. It was, as Mortimer had suspected, Colonel Olrik, and his silence had been because of unconsciousness. In fact, the lump on his head was so large that Mortimer feared he was dead, but he was still breathing. Blake had him taken to a hospital under guard, then turned to Mortimer.

"You should go with him, you know. You were coshed as well."

"There's hardly a scratch on me." the professor said dismissively.

"They didn't break the skin, but that's a bad bump," Blake pressed, "I'll run you back to the flat, then come back and clear this mess up. I'll see if Doctor Levy can come around to check on you."

"Really, Francis, there's no-"

"I insist."

Blake signalled that the Detective Inspector who had accompanied them should take over, and shepherded Mortimer into their car. Pulling away from the warehouse and leaving the docks, Blake was thankful that Mortimer was safe and sound. The business of the traitor wasn't quite over, but now that his friend wasn't in danger, there would be no more treading lightly, and the Captain would deal with it.

**Author's Note:**

> quite enjoyed this one
> 
> Finally, a decently long work! This is the longest thing since the second prompt, and I was going to try and make them all decent lengths...oh well. More to come!


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